Does anyone else's 4 year old wake overnight?

Please tell me it's a phase, I'm at my wits end. It's not nightmares, he just wakes and comes and wakes me up...his leg is itchy, he's hot, he's thirsty (there's water on his bedside table). Every single night this last week....any time between 1 and 4am. I am so tired!!!! My 9 month old has been sleeping through so these wake ups are a shock to the system. I cant go back to sleep afterwards so spend 2 hors staring at the ceiling and being in a foul mood the next day. Please please tell me this is a phase. I don't know what else to do. Coaxing, yelling, I've done it all at 3am.......gahhh!!!!!!!!

Yep mine does too. Since he was born there have only been a minimal amount of nights he's actually slept all the way through.

Gosh this makes me feel better. I used to think "perhaps DD2 will start sleeping through when she turns 4". Well guess what, she's already turned 4.... Gah.That said, she did sleep through one night this week. I FELT FANTASTIC.

Sorry OP I have no brilliant suggestions for you as my miss 4 wakes up most (make that every) night and comes in to wake me - not dad, just me. Sometimes it is a nightmare but most times it's something really silly (to me anyway especially at 1am, 2am, 3am) like my fan is making a noise or I want a drink or my leg is itchy.

It's been happening for about 8 months so I think if it is a phase it is a really really long one.

I have set up a blanket on the floor beside my bed and make her sleep on that when she won't go back to her bed. I find this is easier than having an arguement and getting frustrated in the early hours of the morning. It also helps me get back to sleep quicker as usually I am awake for about 2-3 hours depending on what hour she wakes me up.

I'm hoping that next year will be better as she is starting school and I HOPE that will tire her out and get her sleeping better.

My miss 2 is the great at sleeping - goes to bed at 7 ish and wakes up around 6.30am the next day with barely a peep overnight.

If you find something that works please share as I have tried rewards charts, special goals, removing favourite toys/activities, threats, tears from me and nothing has worked.

Mine did, and even into age 5 and 6 - school didnt healp if he got overtired it would get worse as he would wake up with bad dreams or just not being able to settle again. It is hard, have found keeping calm is the best for longer term sleep - just so hard at 1 am

This might seem cruel but when DD did that (at about three) for a few nights (and it was just because) I finally took her to the lounge room one night and said "if you want to be awake you can but I am going back to bed".

I started to walk out (I hadn't turned any lights on) and she said "I want to go to bed mum" and that stopped it. Now she only wakes for the toilet.

Yes. Both my 4yo's wake nightly. We already give them medication to help them sleep as otherwise they only sleep for about 4 hours (broken) a night. Most of the time they just come and cuddle up and either go back to sleep or just lie awake quietly.

My 6.5yo still often wakes overnight too. He's the one with the silly excuses - itchy legs, fan noise, wants a new drink etc - and talks for hours. He's also the first one awake at 4:30 most mornings. *yawn*

Yep mine does too. Since he was born there have only been a minimal amount of nights he's actually slept all the way through.

QUOTE (froggy1 @ 11/12/2012, 07:25 AM)

Gosh this makes me feel better. I used to think "perhaps DD2 will start sleeping through when she turns 4". Well guess what, she's already turned 4.... Gah.That said, she did sleep through one night this week. I FELT FANTASTIC.

Another who's 4 y/o is only just starting to sleep through (more nights than not at least ). I don't know whether its a phase for your 4 y/o but ours is slowly improving

Thank you for all your replies! I really wasn't expecting so many of you to be going through the same thing....I thought it was me doing something to make DS do this. Here's hoping we get a good nights sleep soon!

my four 1/2 year old has only recently started sleeping through so I understand the pain!! The only way we could get him to sleep through was using a sticker chart.

So for each night he sleeps through (either in his own bed, or he can come into bed with us and go straight back to sleep) he gets a sticker. After seven nights, he gets something of his choice (at the moment it is the angry bird plush toys).

We struggled to find something that he wanted enough to get the results, but now most of the time he will sleep through.

15148568[/url]']If you find something that works please share as I have tried rewards charts, special goals, removing favourite toys/activities, threats, tears from me and nothing has worked.

I was going to say the same thing. He has no trains to play with anymore as I've taken them all away!I have even threatened to take away Christmas since I was soooo frustrated I think I may have gone too far with that one, but I have no logic at 3am

My just turned 4 year used to sleep fine. Last couple of months though he is in our bed more often then not. I have finally resorted to a mattress on the floor in our room and am hoping he goes back to his room and sleeps through again soon. This is especially true as the 2.5 year old is in our room most fo the time too

My 4.5 year old will sleep beautifully for months on end and then out of nowhere starts waking and wanting to co-sleep again. I teach her to creep in, climb in the bottom between mummy and daddy and co-sleep quietly. That does the trick until she's back to normal again.

If it's water she wants, that's on the bedside table. If it's the toilet I've taught her to take herself. If it's anything else, that's Daddy's problem.

Yes, mine has ever since birth. Very rarely does he stay all night in his bed, he always ends up in mine. Last week we also had two nights in a row with night terrors. My 18-month-old is the same so between the two of them, yeah I know how tired you must be feeling!

Cam turned 4 in August. He has started improving & sleeps through most nights now. Sometimes he can't find his water bottle or wants me to fill it back up. I do often hear him waking up & having a drink (his sipper bottle is noisy lol), but he generally goes straight back to sleep.

My 4 year old went through a similar stage, though she woke up every 15 minutes and wouldn't actually let me sleep. And asked the same questions every time she called for me, even though I had answered her numerous times before.

She grew out of it though and now only wakes up once if at all, usually to get me to put her blanket back on her, or because her sister woke her up.

Mine is 4.5yrs and comes in to our room most nights, I thought it was because we moved house but that was 6mths ago.

I have to say that santa is bringing a inflatable mattress/sleeping bag thing for xmas as she starts school next year & we both work full time & lack of sleep is taking a toll. So she can get into "her" bed beside us without waking us up.

We have tried stickers, reward charts -flat out blackmail, threats - all with no luck.

My 4, almost 5 year old wakes pretty much every night, he takes himself off to the toilet and then crawls in. If he doesn't come in then I will wake and have to check him or at least hear him breathing (that's another story) and he usually sleeps till about 8am. I know it's a habit, I don't particularly mind it and he gets a lot of comfort from it, so if it becomes a problem I'll tackle it.

How many adults wake in the night? Roll over an check the time? Go to the toilet? Fluff up the pillow?

I think it's really unfair to criticize kids for waking in the night. As adults we know how to sort out thins we need. Kids don't. I think it's unfair to put young kids in a room and expect them to not emerge for 12 hours.

I still count it as 'sleeping through' if they go back to sleep promptly after a glass of water or a toilet trip.

I think you need to sort out your inability to fall asleep again, rather than your son waking.

I’m not expecting you to be as calm as you might be right now. What I mean is that if your panic levels are through the roof during a stressful situation, let’s bring them down to just under the ceiling.

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